Category Archives: News

DUNCAN BAKER-BROWN INTERVIEWED IN AJ ABOUT CIRCULAR ECONOMY

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Will Hurst, journalist for the Architects’ Journal, interviewed BBM director Duncan Baker-Brown in his latest article making the case for circular public-sector procurement.

Architects’ Journal website, 13/02/20

Full article – Subscription needed

RetroFirst: The case for circular public-sector procurement

To read the full article please click here.

Local authorities, owners of both land and property, are perfectly placed to transition the management of their resources into a circular economy system. Instead of demolishing unsuitable existing building stock, they could instead retrofit it for re-use or carefully deconstruct them and re-use the existing materials on other local sites.

Will Hurst explains that Brighton and Hove City Council, who pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030, is leading by example. BBM director Duncan Baker-Brown is advising BHCC on how to reach their carbon neutral pledge by implementing a construction and tourism-focussed circular economy route map.

Following calls from scientists and the public in the last year to take radical steps towards preventing the climate emergency, many public bodies in the UK have begun to embrace a construction re-use agenda.

“Everyone in the public sector is talking about this,” says Baker-Brown, who recently established a new consultancy to advise clients on sustainable and ‘closed loop’ strategies in addition to his work at architecture practice BBM Sustainable Design and at the University of Brighton.

WEBSITE UPDATE – TWO NEWLY COMPLETED PROJECTS ADDED

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Two BBM residential projects now live on the website

The Dock – Firle, East Sussex
Project: Two storey rear extension and single storey side extension with sensitive refurbishments to existing works

The Dock lies within the Firle Conservation Area and the South Downs National Park. Although the existing two-storey, four-bedroom house was not statutorily listed, it was identified as being of local interest and is located within the surrounding conservation area. A sensitive approach to the existing fabric and built form was required to create minimal impact on the surrounding area.

The works included multiple extensions providing additional bedrooms and a bathroom to the house as well as the re-planning of communal spaces and a full refurbishment of the property including thermal upgrades. Click here for the full project profile.

Abbots Barn – Ripe, East Sussex
Project: New build extension with associated external works

Located in sight of the South Downs National Park, the annexe was designed to sit respectively alongside the existing dwelling. The annexe forms a fourth side to the main property’s entrance courtyard and its presence protects the area from a strong south westerly prevailing wind. Meanwhile, large glazed openings to the south and west elevations address the surrounding landscape and views of the National Park, something lacked previously. Click here for the full project profile.

DUNCAN FEATURED IN ARCHITECTS’ JOURNAL ARTICLE

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Duncan’s reuse knowledge instrumental in Architects’ Journal article “Virtuous Circles”

Architects’ Journal Website 

Full article – Subscription needed

16.01.20 / VOL 247/ISSUE 01

Virtuous circles: Can reusing building materials in new projects go mainstream? 

Reusing building materials in new projects could significantly reduce the industry’s carbon emissions. Duncan is featured in Fran Williams article which looks at how the circular economy is faring in UK construction. To read the full article please click here.

TWO BRIGHTON PLANNING APPROVALS IN ONE WEEK

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BBM receive planning approval for two residential projects in one week

Council: Brighton and Hove City Council

Eco-refurbishment overlooking the Sussex coastline

Refurbishment and internal alterations will provide a greater connection to the garden of this Art-Deco property situated in Ovingdean, Brighton. The proposal takes advantage of outdoor living, making the most of the views over the Brighton coastline.

Terrace house extension 

Our proposal reconfigured this Georgian terrace house in Brighton to provide an open plan kitchen/dining area and external courtyard.

DUNCAN FEATURED IN THE GUARDIAN

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The case for never demolishing another building

Full article

This week Duncan has been featured in the Guardian’s article which discusses the current state of the construction industry which is creating huge CO2 emissions. What if new buildings had to be adapted and reused or built only with materials already available? The article discusses how mindsets are shifting.   
Photo credit: Omar Marques/Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media

While much of mainland Europe is well on the way to reimagining buildings as “urban mines” of potential, the UK is slowly beginning to catch up. Architect Duncan Baker-Brown, who published the Re-Use Atlas in 2017, says the subject has gone from being a niche pursuit to something being discussed at high level in the last year.

“Since Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion, the industry is starting to wake up,” he says. “National legislation is still way behind, but a lot of local authorities are getting on with it anyway.” He has been working with Brighton and Hove council to instil circular principles into the way local procurement works, and will be running an architectural summer school looking at how waste streams can be harvested from one of the council’s demolition sites and reused. In a welcome sign of progress, the new London Plan will require planning applications to include a Circular Economy Statement, demonstrating how the building components can be disassembled and reused.